Guest editorial

Citation

Jauhari, V. (2007), "Guest editorial", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 19 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm.2007.04119eaa.002

Guest editorial

This special issue of IJCHM focuses on the hospitality industry in India. The Indian economy is on a trail of growth and is expected to become the world’s third largest economy by the year 2050. This growth is accompanied by increased foreign investment, more business and leisure travel, and more opportunities for growth in the tourism sector. The aim here is to provide an array of research-based articles in an Indian context. The articles address the use of information technology for reservations in mid-size hotels in India, service recovery, environmental consciousness, and capital structure management.

Dutta, Venkatesh and Parsa explore the reasons for service failure in restaurants. The article provides insight into customers’ perceptions and response regarding service failure and recovery. The study compares customers’ perceptions in the USA and India through a consumer survey. In India the consumers verbalize their complaints, while in the USA the percentage is smaller. The causes of consumer dissatisfaction in both these markets are similar in terms of operations, quality of F&B, hygiene and physical environment.

Manaktola and Jauhari explore the factors that influence consumer attitudes and behaviour towards green practices in the lodging industry in India. The article assesses the consumers’ intentions and willingness to pay for these practices. The study suggests that, though consumers using hotel services are conscious about the need for environmentally friendly practices in India, they are still conscious and concerned about quality standards. Though consumers would prefer to use lodging options which follow these practices, they are not willing to pay extra for these services.

Sanjeev has attempted to measure efficiency in the hotel and restaurant sector in India using financial data from 68 firms, covering a 12-month period. By using data envelopment analysis the study sifts the efficient firms from the non-efficient firms. The findings suggest a positive relationship between size and efficiency but there is still much scope for managing the inputs better.

Dabas and Manaktola have given an insight into managing reservations via online distribution channels. They assess the strategies in the mid-segment hotels in India. The study suggests that mid-segment hotels still rely on traditional distribution channels and there is a need to create awareness about the advantages of opting for electronic distribution. Madan analyzes the debt-equity structure of selected leading hotel chains in India. The study indicates that the use of debt has worked well for only a few companies and has affected others negatively.

Finally, Dwivedi, Shibu and Venkatesh assess the implications of the proliferation of social software like blogs, message-board and consumer review sites. The consequences of these options for the hotel industry are also assessed. The study points out that hotels are increasingly losing control over what gets written about them online. It has specific recommendations for the hotel firm on dealing with this new medium of communication.

Vinnie JauhariGuest Editor